Unique holiday gifts by design

Lighting, and many home accessory gift ideas from Italian, Toronto area manufacturers

A quality we desire in our holiday gifts is their uniqueness, so products by design-driven manufacturers seem like good choices when we begin thinking about presents for friends and loved ones in this festive season.
The Kartell furniture company of Milan has been known for its innovative plastics products since the 1960s, and its recent output is no exception. Although usually thought of as marketers of modern design, Kartell celebrates more traditional forms - albeit perhaps with a knowing wink - with two recent lighting designs by Ferruccio Laviani. The Take table lamp, for example, features a traditional shade and base, but both elements are made of batch-dyed polycarbonate. Take is available in seven different colours, including a very groovy green. Laviani goes even more traditional with the polycarbonate Bourgie lamp, which is his 21st century version of a baroque design. While Laviani himself is a leading light among the current generation of product designers, Kartell's line-up also includes modern classics such as Anna Castelli Ferrieri's Componibili storage unit and the latest work from the legendary Vico Magistretti.
For home lighting, one would be hard pressed to find a purer design than Jasper Morrison's Glo-Ball lighting series for Flos. The basic model is a perfectly realized sphere of opaline glass with a die-cast aluminum support. Perfection costs, however, so those of us on a modest budget can consider the Flow table lamp by designer David Quan at Toronto homewares manufacturer Umbra. The ultra-modern Flow consists of a metal base with a chrome finish and a fabric shade. The Art Deco-inspired Stylo desk clock from Umbra is a reminder of a resurgence in interest in the Roaring Twenties. The dominance of email notwithstanding, the Toronto company seems not quite ready yet to give up on good old-fashioned snail mail - the Postino mailbox by designer Matt Carr is a modern stainless steel version of the traditional outdoor mail box.
Flatware can be an elegant gift. Toronto design firm Kerr and Company collaborated with Gourmet Settings of Richmond Hill to produce a series of affordable flatware collections. The Urban Settings series features four modern lines - Loft, Metro, Soho and Taxi. The-20 piece sets are made of 18/8 stainless steel and are dishwasher-safe. If budget is less of a concern, the online shop at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) suggests a five-piece flatware set designed by the legendary Ettore Sottsass for Italian home accessories giant Alessi. MOMA also offers classic product designs by Achille Castiglioni, Mario Bellini and Antonio Citterio.
Buying original designs rather than cheap knock-off products is still the way to go. Doing so rewards the creativity of the designer, encourages future innovation from the manufacturer, and ensures consumers enjoy a high quality, durable product. That may sound idealistic, but there isn't a better time of year to dream of and move towards a better world.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season.

Publication Date: 2004-12-12
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4703